No matter what you think of the last six months, at least you can’t say it’s been boring.
In case you blinked, CFO Brew is here to provide a recap of the biggest themes in finance- and accounting-related news through the first half of 2025.
A wild tariff ride. This summer brought us the live action remake of the Disney animated movie Lilo & Stitch, and with it a new rendition of the iconic song “Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride.” Meanwhile, the global economy has endured some gnarly waves of its own thanks to a chaotic tariffs program rollout, then pullback, from President Donald Trump.
Here’s a quick (and incomplete) recap: Trump enacted tariffs on the US’s largest trading partners, tacked more tariffs onto targeted items like automobiles, announced reciprocal tariffs on virtually all countries in April, paused many of them, lost a court battle over his universal 10% tariffs, then won them back on appeal. Now, the US and China have allegedly reached a new trade deal.
Feeling dizzy? Beyond the head-spinning back and forth, CFO Brew explored what the tariffs meant for business decision-making. Here’s another nonexhaustive list of the tariffs’ business implications:
- Most CFOs said they’d pass the cost of tariffs on to consumers
- Companies executed on their mitigation plans
- Consumer confidence plunged
- The tariffs created some M&A headaches
- Experts warned of longer-term implications
Deregulation far and wide. Following Trump’s November electoral win, some business leaders salivated at the thought of the coming deregulation. The new administration may very well have sated their appetite in the months since.
Trump got right to it on day one, signing an executive order on Jan. 20 calling for a “regulatory freeze pending review.” His administration has also made deep cuts to the CFPB and IRS. Republican lawmakers are eyeing the elimination of PCAOB as well.
One expert told us it could be open season on finance sector regulations enacted by Dodd-Frank after the Supreme Court scrapped the Chevron deference last year.
Cutting all this red tape may not be good news for all companies. Deep cuts to the IRS mean the tax agency will only be able to answer 16% of calls during next year’s tax season.
The 150-hour rule’s time appears up. Of course, there’s been plenty of non-Trump news to chew on this year as well.
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CFOs are painfully aware that the shortage of accounting professionals can seriously impact their business.
Many industry practitioners say that, in order to bring more young folks into the profession, it’s got to be easier to get in. This has brought on what appears to be the downfall of the 150-hour rule, which requires accounting pros to receive an additional year of college in order to earn a CPA license.
AICPA, a longtime proponent of the rule, recently endorsed alternative pathways to CPA licensure. But really, AICPA is playing catch-up to what state CPA societies have been saying for a while, as CFO Brew previously detailed.
Connecticut recently became the latest state to scrap the 150-hour rule by adding other pathways. One option only requires a bachelor’s degree, which equates to 120 credit hours, plus two years of work experience.
PE continues its takeover of public accounting. Another major theme of the year so far (and likely well into the future) is private equity’s continued advances into the world of public accounting.
PE had a heavy hand in the recent Baker Tilly and Moss Adams merger. PE owns just under 50% of the combined organization, which is now the sixth-largest public accounting firm in the US, Baker Tilly leaders told us.
CohnReznick in February announced it secured an investment from British PE firm Apax Partners. “This strategic investment from the Apax Funds will help us continue on our growth trajectory,” CEO David Kessler said in a news release.
The sale of a stake in Citrin Cooperman from one PE firm to another, reported in early January, possibly marked PE’s “first flip” in public accounting.
Firms can benefit from PE investment by quickly upgrading technology and better competing for scarce talent, according to experts. But others worry about what PE’s takeover will mean to client relationships.
“For some, this trend signals a new era of modernization and growth, promising an infusion of much-needed capital,” Sridhar Ramamoorti, a University of Dayton accounting professor, and Paul Herring, founder and CEO of consulting firm Katalytic, wrote in December for Financial Executives International. “For others, it represents a direct threat to the foundational principles of audit quality and independence.”